National Bank Financial Predicts Weaker Earnings for BCE

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE - Analysts at National Bank Financial decreased their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of BCE in a research report issued on Thursday, December 12th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $1.82 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $1.89. National Bank Financial has a "Hold" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE's current full-year earnings is $2.14 per share.

BCE has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays lowered their target price on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Trading Down 3.7 %

BCE stock traded down $0.92 during trading on Monday, hitting $23.88. The company had a trading volume of 7,752,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,501,203. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.32. BCE has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $41.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market cap of $21.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 341.07, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $656,421,000 after purchasing an additional 864,472 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in BCE by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $123,877,000 after buying an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in BCE by 130.1% in the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 293,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,200,000 after buying an additional 165,881 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,094,000. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its position in shares of BCE by 14.1% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,216,375 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,330,000 after acquiring an additional 150,510 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.737 dividend. This is a positive change from BCE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.35%. BCE's payout ratio is 4,214.29%.

About BCE

BCE Inc, a communications company, provides wireless, wireline, Internet, and television (TV) services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada. The company operates through two segments, Bell Communication and Technology Services, and Bell Media. The Bell Communication and Technology Services segment provides wireless products and services including mobile data and voice plans and devices; wireline products and services comprising data, including internet access, internet protocol television, cloud-based services, and business solutions, as well as voice, and other communication services and products; and satellite TV and connectivity services for residential, small and medium-sized business, government, and large enterprise customers.